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B...b...b...boy

by
Dawn Stoops
| Sep 24, 2015

Here's a scene from my house a few days ago. I'm in the kitchen and my four-year-old comes in to ask me a question. In the middle of his sentence he slows down and stutters. He's got a thinking look on his face. I answer his question when he's done and he runs off to play. For a brief minute I wonder if he's developed some sort of speech issue I should ask the doctor about. Then I realize what his little brain was doing!

He's learning letter names and sounds at home and at school. All the early literacy information that's being carefully funneled into his brain is taking hold. He's thinking about how words sound and how letters relate to words. He's testing his skills out on his own. He's trying to figure out what sound a particular word starts with and if he can identify that sound as a letter he knows. It's all happening in his head and the only evidence I see of this learning looks like a stutter. Well, I'm excited about this development and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I love being part of this journey and I love being part of the early literacy journey for all those kids I see at the library.